Reverence by Angelica Chase Page B

mighty large silver spoon.”
    “Tell me about your parents,” I asked, knowing a part of the answer. He stilled my wandering hand on his thigh.
    “My father died when I was young, my mother … I rarely hear from her.” He didn’t seem affected by it.
    “That must be hard.” I pulled my feet up beneath me on the comfortable seat as I tuned in. He leaned back in his seat, straightening his already perfect bowtie.
    Another dark expression, one I hadn’t seen before, crossed his features, but it wasn’t sadness. It looked like resentment. “My father killed himself. I never thought it bothered me, but I guess it stuck with me. I researched a lot about emotions and the human mind, that’s what got me interested in psychiatry. I was looking for answers.”
    “Did you find them?” He nodded his head, looking out the window. “Yes and no. I got some insight, but in truth, he would be the only one who could truly answer them. My mother refused to speak of him.”
    “I’m sorry, Aiden.”
    “It was just a way for me to cope, I guess. I never really wanted to be a shrink.”
    “You never really wanted to be anything, did you?” I laughed. “You have all these amazing talents, degrees, and you just…”
    He leaned in with a grin. “To you it’s a waste, but why? For money? You of all people know how tainted that point is.”
    “I do,” I agreed whole-heartedly, but added, “You could be helping people with your expertise.”
    “Point made, but Nina, I’d rather lift them with music, not listen to them suffer. I’m not so sure there are magic words to help the human condition. But I’m beginning to think there are magic people.” He fingered my cheek as his molten brown eyes moved over my face. “You do things to me.”
    Ignoring the intimacy of his statement, I opted for humor. “You do things to me to,” I said on a laugh. “Pretty raunchy, Mr. Shrink. What would Freud say about the way you fuck?”
    His grin left my heart racing. “He wouldn’t say anything, he would take notes and do the same to his woman.”
    We laughed as the car slowed, and I pulled out my lipstick for a quick fix. “One hour and we are out of here. I’ll take you for a happy meal.”
    He stilled my movement. “If you hate these things so much, why are you here?”
    “I joined everything in hopes of making some new friends when I became wealthy. I was chair on a couple of committees due to my overly generous donations. I’ve stepped down and ducked out of everything in the last six months. I no longer give a shit. I’ve hated most of these functions, but this is one cause close to my heart.” I nodded out of the window and smiled as he saw the sign for the Charleston Aquarium.
    He nodded as he exited the car and reached out his hand for mine. We bypassed the carpet at his insistence and headed in and were greeted by an ambiance of soft lights and live jazz music. I immediately grabbed a waiting glass of champagne and handed one to my beautiful date.
    “It’s my job to get the drinks,” he cooed in my ear as we sipped champagne, hands clasped.
    “Come on, I want to show you something.” I walked him past the first two larger than life sized aquariums filled with tropical fish, and he looked on, admiring them along with me.
    “It’s way more fascinating to me than art. It’s alive and beautiful and ever changing.” He squeezed my hand as we walked along the colorful and contrasting wall of fish. I weaved through the crowd, intentionally not making eye contact with anyone. I was here with Aiden and that was all that mattered. For once in the last two years, I had someone to entertain. I wasn’t being hidden, a kept secret. For once I was being revered as someone important. At least to him.
    “Want to dance?” I asked quickly. Aiden seemed distracted as he looked around us.
    “No, not here. I’ll dance with you some other time. I promise.” He squeezed my hand and I let it go. We circled the aquarium, stopping